1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to polyacetylenes and its application, and more particularly to polyacetylenes extracted from Antrodia Cinnamomea and application thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Antrodia Cinnamomea (also called Antrodia Camphorata), is a perennial fungus belonging to Aphyllophorales, Polyporaceae, and is only found in Taiwan. Antrodia Cinnamomea can only parasitize on the inner wall of the decayed and hollow core of Cinnamoum Kanehirai Hay. Because Cinnamoum Kanehirai is a rare and preserved kind of tree in Taiwan, and the growth of Antrodia Cinnamomea is very slow, Antrodia Cinnamomea is also very rare. Although under the drive of market demand, researches have overcome the limitation that Antrodia Cinnamomea can only parasitize on Cinnamoum Kanehirai Hay, the price of Antrodia Cinnamomea is still very high because of its outstanding medicinal value.
According to traditional Taiwanese medicine, Antrodia Cinnamomea has the potential to cure hepatopathy, hypertension, abdominalgia and cancer. The scientific community is also greatly interested in the complex ingredients contained in Antrodia Cinnamomea. Currently known physiologically active ingredients contained in Antrodia Cinnamomea include: triterpenoids, polysaccharides (like β-D-dextran), adenosine, vitamin (like vitamin B and niacin), SOD (superoxide dismutase), nucleic acid, steroid and blood pressure stabilizing agents (like antodia acid) etc. Particularly, most studies are on triterpenoids. However, although there are more and more studies focusing on development of the ingredients of Antrodia Cinnamomea having medicinal values, currently there is still no complete establishment on the metabolism of Antrodia Cinnamomea during its growing and maturing processes.
Generally, the sporophores of Antrodia Cinnamomea are regarded as the part with most medicinal value, but there is still no complete experimental method to study the physical components of the sporophores of Antrodia Cinnamomea. In order to properly use Antrodia Cinnamomea in the preparation of medicines, a complete analysis of the physical components of the sporophores of Antrodia Cinnamomea will provide a thorough and good understanding of various compounds contained in Antrodia Cinnamomea, and the unique therapeutic effectiveness and use of each compound.